Category Archives: Subaru Diesel

Subaru Tecnica Institute has produced high-performance vehicles for over 22 years, but for the first time in its history, there may soon be a diesel-powered Subaru Impreza, tuned for performance, in Europe.

Subaru developed a diesel variant of its famous boxer engine for Europe that made its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show back in 2007. Fast forward to January 2009, when it launched the diesel-powered Impreza for Europe, whose 2.0-liter flat four turbocharged engine produced 227 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque, mated to a six-speed manual transmission. With Europe’s strict emission laws, a diesel-poweredSTI could be just what Subaru needs to remain compliant.

But will a diesel-powered STI be able to compete with its gasoline-powered stablemate? With a little massaging from Subaru’s in-house racing division, it should be easy. With its low center of gravity, superior fuel economy, and low-end torque, a diesel boxer would make perfect sense for the STI. A 2.5-liter turbocharged flat-four gasoline powered STI pumps out 305 horsepower and 290 pound-feet of torque, and we’re confident Subaru wouldn’t release an oil-burningImpreza WRX STI unless it was comparable to the gasoline version.

Its hard to believe that we first reported that Subaru could bring its much-anticipated diesel engine here to the U.S. over three years ago. Between then and now, the company has remained indecisive due to high diesel fuel prices and stringent emissions requirements here. Needless to say, the diesel boxer is still nowhere to be found stateside, but this might change soon.

The company’s first horizontally-opposed boxer diesels have rolled out in Europe, and Subaru’s executive vice president Tom Doll said the diesel engine is a hot seller over there, so much so that Subaru total sales are increasing. Doll tempered our excitement by saying Subaru is not confident that the U.S. is ready for the oil burner just yet and that bringing the powerplant here will require a lot of things to fall into place perfectly.

Doll told Ward’s Auto what will need to happen:emissions requirements in the U.S. are significant. And given the price of diesel fuel, where it is right now, it really does not pay to bring the vehicle into the U.S. We’re trying to see what happens. As the market sorts itself out, we’ll get ready, and then look at bringing the car (here).

Our chance of getting this powerplant seems slim but new CAFE regulations requiring upwards of 35 miles per gallon by 2016 could convince Subaru that the time to offer Americans a diesel is now.